The creation of a binational nuclear energy agency will be announced on September 6th in Recife (Brazil) by the Presidents of Brazil and Argentina. This new company would not only produce electrical energy but also process the uranium, for medical and agricultural use and its possible use in atomic submarines, according to Argentinean press releases. The company would not be limited to the geographical area of these two countries, but it is to be expanded to the rest of South America, where according to the Brazilian government, between 12 and 15 nuclear power stations would be built before 2030.

Alfredo Tranjan Filho, president of Brazil’s Nuclear Industries, said to the daily O Estado de San Pablo that “it would be more efficient to establish a broad binational agency, dedicated not only to uranium enrichment, but also to other opportunities and needs of the two countries and the wider market of South America, in areas like health, agriculture and radiomedicines.” The agency would become one of the global providers of enriched uranium, one of the goals of the Brazilian Government, according to Tranjan. Besides plans from Chile, Uruguay, Peru and Venezuela to set up nuclear power stations, Argentina has two power stations in operation, it pretends to finish Atucha II and it is planning to set up two more. Brazil still has Angra I and Angra II, and is planning to start up Angra III in 2014 and other six power stations until 2030.”

This binational agency is one of the 17 agreements reached in the meeting of presidents last February 22 when the Nuclear Energy Binational Committee (Coben, for its Spanish acronym) was announced. However, this association does not have the full approval of Brazilian authorities, particularly from the Navy, “there is no Brazil-Argentina guideline in which the Brazilian Navy is involved,” answered the Centre of Communication of the military institution to the daily Estado de Sao Paulo.

Lula’s Government not only has problems with the Navy as regards to the nuclear plans. While different states compete for the location of new plants, the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA, for its Brazilian acronym), the agency that gives environmental authorizations, has passed the judgment that Angra III will be authorized only when it has found a definite solution to store the nuclear waste produced by the plant, among other conditions. Edison Lobão, Minister of Energy, said that waste storage is a problem which has not been solved anywhere in the world. “The Ministry of Environment cannot cannot ask for a solution that does not exist yet. Brazil is not doing anything inferior or superior to what is done in the 440 nuclear power stations around the world” replied Lobão. That is, as there are 440 problems to be resolved, it does not matter to add another one.

The Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN, for its Brazilian abbreviation) and Eletronuclear committed themselves to find a solution before 2010 to safely store nuclear wastes for ‘500 years’, not exactly a definite solution considering the wastes remain radioactive for many thousands of years. Carlos Minc, Minister of Environment, has not agreed with the solution yet, but all indications are that it will be accepted. Lula gave 60 days to solve the problem of the environmental license of Angra III, while the time line set by the government indicates 2014 for starting up, and the pressure on IBAMA is huge.

The announcement made by the Presidents of Brazil and Argentina is worrying and also unrealistic, if we consider the experience these 2 countries had to face during the construction of their plants, Atucha II and Angra III, which have been stopped for more than two decades. The only valid explanation is that the bid of Brazil is actually more related to a geopolitical strategy, aimed to get into the “club” of nuclear powers, and has a military goal rather than an energy-oriented one. Brazil includes, not in vain, in the nuclear package a uranium enrichment plant, a necessary instance to supply nuclear weapons. (This analyses is written by Gerardo Honty. He is an information analyst of energy and climate change in the Latin-American Centre of Social Ecology (CLAES, for its Spanish acronym) at Montevideo, Uruguay).   (Abbreviated translation:  Nuclear Monitor, WISE).

- G. Honty is an information analyst on energy and climate change issues at CLAES (Centro Latino Americano de Ecología Social), Montevideo, Uruguay.